【Origin】
In the 1950s, Taiwan faced problems of underdeveloped industries, over-population in the countryside, and severe unemployment. To revitalize industries and facilitate economic development, the government adopted the industrial product export processing strategy with a labor-intensive feature to import raw materials and intermediate products for processing, while combining the sufficient supply of labor force at a low wage rate, so as to accumulate capital and improve the employment rate.
On December 3, 1966, the first export processing zone in Taiwan and in the world was created, which fused functions of the free trade zone, tax-free zone, and industrial zone, targeting “the expansion of external trade, attracting industrial investments, introducing the latest technologies, and improving employment opportunities.”
The Park utilizes the special economic zone as a strategic action to bring about the development of national and regional economic development. Such successful experiences laid a bedrock for the domestic processing industry during the development course of national economic construction, created countless employment opportunities, earned a great deal of foreign currency, improved economic growth, and established a solid foundation for the economic miracle in Taiwan. Furthermore, the strategy further became an economic development policy tool and a particular learning target to be referred to and adopted by developing countries regarding the execution of economic development plans. Guests from different countries visited one after another to learn the strategy, and it has become the best model for the global export processing zone.
【Geographical Location】
Kaohsiung Cianjhen(高雄前鎮) Technology Industrial Park is located at the south end of Kaohsiung City and at the tip of Kaohsiung Port. The Park is 5 minutes away from the metro station, 10 minutes away from National Highway 1, 5 to 10 minutes away from docks of Kaohsiung Port, and 15 minutes away from Kaohsiung International Airport, possessing convenient land, sea, and air transportation characteristics.
Taiwan is located at the center of the Asia-Pacific region. Kaohsiung Port, where Kaohsiung Cianjhen Technology Industrial Park is located, has an average distance and sea transportation time of 53 hours to major Asia-Pacific ports. It possesses an outstanding geographical location. Together with the vicinity of the Kaohsiung International Airport, the Port owns advantages in developing a cross-nation coordination and management center, which is also a convenient bridge that leads to the two major economies of Europe and America from the Asia-Pacific area.
【Investment Advantage】
Suppliers who invest in the Park may enjoy tax discounts of tariff, commodity tax, business tax, and house tax, and they may significantly reduce the operating costs. In the Park, the administrative rights of relevant agencies are centralized for governance and created the first-ever “unified service unit.” The Administration provides a comprehensive service platform that assists suppliers to quickly enter into the Park, and in turn, creates better production capacity.
The rental for the land in the Park is only NT$11.73 m2/month, and the Park has optical fiber broadband channels and the “interactive website service system” in place, rendering a favorable e-commerce environment. The water and power supply systems are sufficient and stable, and the Park has comprehensive public facilities. Furthermore, there are customs, banks, convenience stores, employees’ dormitories, and multiple sports and leisure facilities that improve employees’ benefits and save operating costs for suppliers. In addition, there are police, fire brigades, cleaning teams, and environmental protection stations in place to protect properties and the physical safety of suppliers.
【Current Status of the Industry】
At the initial stage of establishment, the Park focused on labor-intensive industries. At present, the industrial structure has transformed into a professional electronic zone with high added value, primarily focusing on IC packaging and testing, LED, and LCD. The Park is also a professional hi-tech industrial park of “tri-intensity,” including capital-intensive, technology-intensive, and knowledge-intensive features. To improve the prosperity of industries, the Park considers the industrial development and global trend of energy-saving and carbon dioxide reduction. In the future, the Park will consider suppliers in such key industries as the focuses for investment attraction, exerting the industrial cluster effects.
【Future Development】
Except for R&D innovation and marketing, and making the Park become the technical innovation and integration center for the manufacturing industry, the future development of the Park will also combine with the Multi-function Economic and Trade Park Project, Asia New Bay Area Development Project, Nanxing Project of Kaohsiung City Government to promote the integration of local, regional economic development. In 2021, the Park was renamed “Kaohsiung Cianjhen Technology Industrial Park.” Regarding the establishment of the “Act for the Establishment and Administration of Technology Industrial Parks,” except for altering the name of the Park, provisions related to investment management, asset invigoration, and facilitation of industrial-academic cooperation were also added in the hope that the service team of the Park may actively realize the new laws and regulations, promote the optimization of facilities in the Park, and introduce the design aesthetics and innovative technologies, to manifest a more favorable investment environment.
With the great support from the Forward-looking Infrastructure Project of the Executive Yuan, Kaohsiung Branch is responsible for the special funding under the forward-looking project amounting to NT$2.4 billion for accelerating the replacement of old and obsolete factories and building a stereoscopic and innovative industrial cluster. The overall project includes the building of two standard factories and one co-working office building, injecting new development vitality to the industrial transformation of the Park. In the future, new technology factories will lead the development of the new industry. Kaohsiung will be created as the significant venue for high-end manufacture and technical research development in Taiwan.
